The Way of Wolf
by The Leaf 180
Summary: Hatake Kakashi has quit ANBU. He must unlearn old ways and cut all ties with them. Doubt is thick on his mind as he wonders, Was is really right to let the way of Wolf die? Can some new friends manage to show him life outside of the ANBU's dark ways?


**I did this to practice on dialouge, because that's never been my strong point. I'm goig to try to add more in the next story I do. **

**Disclaimer- Even if I did own Naruto, you woudn't believe me anyway.**

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><p>The moonlight shines through the open window. A man waits by it, thinking. His head rests in his arms and his arms on the windowsill.<p>

He looks dreamy, his silky silver hair waving in the wind. One eye closed and the other open in a thoughtful trance. He is deep in thought.

He stands. The moon as a backdrop as he makes the best and possible the worst decision he's ever made. His hands clench as he finds his courage.

He grabs the mask. The clean porcelain mask. The one that symbolizes the wolf, the one shielding him many times. He feels it; he knows what he must do.

He gazes at it, one of the reasons he can't go on. He gripes the mask in his hands.

He feels the lightness of it, the fragility. The chipped paint. The grip tightens; he is forced to make a decision. He can't do it anymore.

He shatters the mask. Into a million broken pieces. It will never be fixed. It is done.

He has done his part. It's over for Wolf.

The fragments of the mask glare at him. He refuses to regret his decision. There's no going back now. He has to go through with it.

His face is cold. His eye is bleak. He does not give anything away. His eye narrows. His mouth tightens slightly. His frown deepens.

He spins elegantly and exits the room. The air is still. The world seems to be holding its breath.

The broken mask glittering in the moonlight, perhaps saddened, as it lay destroyed on the man's hard floor. The man leaves the room, he does not look back. He knew that by smashing the mask he had done something with meaning.

He couldn't stop now. The ANBU name he was given was Wolf. It suits him, he thinks.

He exits his apartment, fully aware of his comrades silently observing overhead. He can sense their interest mixed with a trace of concern.

They wonder why he is out in the dead of night. They consider following him. They move on, senpai will take care of whatever he had set out to do. They trust him, they are unaware of the deed he has done.

They still think of him as Wolf. He is not Wolf, not anymore. He is a being of his own. He pauses and gazes at the disappearing ANBU as they flutter above his head. They cast shadows as they noiselessly filter in the moonlight.

They take to the rooftops. He watches from the shadows. They leave swiftly. He stays hidden. A habit he had picked up from them. He emerges from the shadows. He takes in his surroundings even though he knows there is no danger, he will never unlearn. It is impossible.

There is no such thing as an ex-ANBU.

He knows where he must go to complete the task. His frustrated mind won't let him just yet. He ponders as he walks in darkness. It does not betray him to sight. He is used to it, he trust it. It shields him.

His feet unconsciously lead him to the stone. It is where he thinks. He halts just out of reach of the pale moonlight.

It is welcoming him, it is a spotlight. He scowls at the thought of revealing himself to the bright light shimmering down. He steps out. The moonlight washes over him, stealing away the shadow. Wrapping him and coaxing him out.

His silver hair covering his scarred eye like a curtain, the other is trained to see through the wall of silver. He falters as he nears the stone. Hating the moonlight for exposing him and making him feel vulnerable.

He wonders if he will ever get used to it. He has no need to hide anymore. He is not Wolf. He is Kakashi. It has been a long time. He has not been called that in a while. It is relief to reclaim his name.

He is breaking free, of the restrictions of the ANBU. He is not one of them. His face is impassive as he faces the stone. He allows himself to think about what he has done.

He had held the power in his hands; he used it to crush the mask. He has killed Wolf. There is no Wolf, not anymore. It will remain dormant inside Kakashi. A part of him died in that room.

He has drawn the line. He will never be Wolf again. It is time for him to accept it. He blinks slowly. The stone gleaming solemnly back at him. What will he do now?

He knows the next step he should take is to the Hokage tower. He is still. He refuses to move. He lets his thoughts wander to his future. If he is not of the ANBU, what is he?

Did he do the right thing? Was it the heat of the moment getting to him? Has he made an irreplaceable mistake? Where will he go?

He growls deep inside his throat. This time there was no sensei to point him in the right direction and take care of him. Now was not the time for doubt. He had his reasons.

The Hokage will give him a place in the village. He will know what to do with him. All Kakashi could do was let fate run its course. He was no longer in control.

He has done his part, now he was at the mercy of destiny and where ever it decided Kakashi should be. He was powerless to change any of it. If this was where he was meant to be, then so be it.

"Wolf?"

A voice startles him out of his thoughts. Without thinking, he reacts.

His hands forms the needed sign and he teleports into a nearby tree. He relaxes before he realizes. There is no danger. He needed to stop doing that. It will only raise unwanted suspicion.

It is usual for the ANBU but he is not one of them. He identifies the ANBU member and sighs as he drops out of the tree. He reaches the clearing once more and the ANBU he verifies as Cat eases at the sight of him.

She is quizzical; she is confused, she is skeptical. He can tell. He can read her through the ANBU mask.

Her stance says she is still tense, her guard is still up. Her tight voice tells him that she is wondering. Emerging from the shadows and into the light his face is set to a serious look. He nods at her curtly; she slouches and crosses her arms.

He continues to stare past her, worries thick and swirling in his mind. He had wanted a peace to try and sort through his thoughts, but apparently he was going to get any here any longer. He turns his gaze back to her, his eyes hard and wanting no sympathy.

He does not need it. He is stronger than that. Sensing it was appropriate to remove her mask at this time. Her hand reaches to her face. He averts his gaze, he does not need company. He is not in the mood to talk.

All he wants is somewhere quiet to clean through him jumble of thoughts. He wanted the Hokage to know of his decision before it got out of hands and the word got around. He needed to tell the Hokage first. He was wasting time here.

"Wolf…? What are you doing here? You're not on patrol…"

He continues to keep his eyes downcast. He will not move. He is still; he is determined not to look at her.

Wolf… how he hated that name. He is leaving it behind, along with all the pain and suffering that went along with it. Along with all the scarring memories. No one was ever going to call him Wolf again.

He hated it; he hated what Wolf made him. He hated the memories it represented. Cat went on nervously as she sees that he did not respond.

"And where's your mask? You're almost never seen without it…"

The question hangs and echoes in the quiet night air. He continues to ignore her. He answers in his head. The mask is gone. It is resting in pieces on his floor. He does not need it. He does not want it.

He feels her anxiety, as he remains silent. His stare is trained on the ground. The meager, pastel grass is slick with dew and it sparkles like gems in the moonlight. He continues to inspect it.

He detaches himself as he and Cat wait in silence. He will wait her out. There is no doubt that his silence brings concern to her, but he does not have to explain any of it. It is his business. His alone. It is his burden.

He was the one who fractured the mask. She would know that the action itself is unforgivable. That you are forced to quit if your mask is discarded in a dishonorable way. The mask is your badge.

You were to protect it, it is your pride in ANBU, it represents you. It is you. And by crushing it… He knows it. That's why he did it. He wasn't anyone's tool. No anymore.

The only exception is if you can bring a good chunk of it home, and have a ready explanation to back yourself up. He had neither. He took a deep breath and sighed.

The longer he waited here the more fear and uncertainty invaded his mind. He fidgeted slightly; he hated hesitation, the longer Cat kept him here the more misgivings he had.

He had to go, the sun would be up soon and he wanted to get to the Hokage tower before it became too busy and crowded. Then there would be more questions waiting for him and it would be harder to justify himself.

He bites his bottom lip in annoyance. He was running out of time.

"S-Senpai…?"

He prepares to overlook her again, but just at that moment the sun started to rise. It is dawn. He was running low on time. If he didn't get there soon things would become a lot more complicated.

The Hokage's office would be overflowing with people and he did not need an audience. This was going to be hard enough as it is. The morning sun cast weak light rays of light over the trees.

His head jerks up as one reaches him and Cat startles at the sudden movement. His eye widens. It was time for him to go.

He takes a step and forces himself to walk slowly to the edge of the clearing. Cat follows him with her gaze as her mind burst with curiosity.

He turns his head to the side. "Goodbye, Cat"

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><p>He takes of as the village awakens. He moves with haste, leaving Cat with more questions than answers.<p>

His words did not provide comfort, she once again wondered of Wolf's mysterious ways. Cat was on edge, she was uneasy at her fellow ANBU's lingering silence.

Why was senpai here? What was with the strange departure? Why did he say goodbye? He sounded like he was leaving… where was he going? What was happening? Where was Wolf's mask? Cat furrowed her brow in confusion.

She fixes her mask back into place. There was nothing she could do about it. It was Wolf's problem and she knew he worked alone. She knew that whatever her Senpai was doing, he would find a way to solve his own problems.

It would work in the end, it always did.

As soon as Kakashi was out of the tree line he broke out of his speed walk and switched to a much preferred teleportation jutsu. He disappears in a puff of smoke and materialized in front of the Hokage tower.

He hesitates and tilts his head slightly and he observes the melancholy pink sky lighting up as the dawn accelerates. The sun warms the frosty town and chases night away.

It paints the sky shades of crimson and rose. It smudges and drips; life in watercolor. His expert eye darts to the side as he notices one of his ANBU subordinates on a building nearby. It is Mouse.

Hoping to avoid confrontation and an unwanted conversation. He slinks away, wishing to not attract unwelcome attention.

He begins to march up the stairs as his mind surrenders to the turmoil. He was tired of being the tool. Of being just a small insignificant part of the whole picture. He didn't want to become one of the countless ANBU lost day after day.

It was too much. That was the last straw. The last mission taken. The last ally, soldier, friend to die in his hands. That was the last time he was going to walk to someone's wife and kids, and tell them that their dear husband has died in the line of duty.

They tell you it is an honor to die for the village. They lie. Nameless ANBU are dying out there, for the village. They had to do all the dirty work.

They had to give up all of their time, worldly possessions and bonds, emotions; they even had to give up their name to become what was thought of as an honor.

It is an honor to die protecting someone important, it is an honor to sacrifice yourself for the good of the mission, it was an honor to die defending your pride, but it was not an honor to be the captain of the broken squad, it was not an honor to take someone's life because you were told to, it was not an honor to be subjected to the mindless, brainwashing.

They had to dedicate themselves to the daily life of the ANBU. They had to know the code, and live by it. They had to accept orders without a question and be sent on mission day after day.

They had to kill to survive; they had to be the best to do the worst. Kakashi was sick of it. He was not going to go through another day of it; he was not going to be responsible for yet another death. Never again.

He felt as if he would go crazy if he had to be stained with one more man's blood, one more lifeless body, on more broken heart, on more funeral, on more dead, one more loss. Slowly but surely, Kakashi Hatake was breaking.

He would not snap. They would not break him any further.

He would not become one of the many that request suicide missions, and get one, and he would not be one of the many to get soft, sympathetic looks from the others as his eyes became bleary and frazzled. He would not be one of the many to go crazy over time, grief stricken and forced into an early retirement.

That would not be him. Today Hatake Kakashi was taking charge. The shadows recede and he has no cover. He has to remind himself that he has no need to be hidden.

He has no secrets. No need to lie low. He hasn't done anything wrong. Nothing to be ashamed of. He tells himself that as he stands a few steps away from the door.

Not wanting to walk into an empty room, he concentrated and reached out with his senses. He could sense the Hokage's chakra signature. It was coming down the hall.

Kakashi remembered standing in this very spot many moons ago. Hearing the Hokage's footsteps echo down the hall and thinking. What has he done? "I can't handle a permanent team; they're all going to die."

That was months, maybe a year ago. He had molded his team into the sharpest, quickest, strongest, most intelligent and one of the most respected ANBU members out there. After all, they had had him as a teacher.

He hears the Hokage approaching with his trained ears he counts the footsteps. He could still turn back. He still had time. His eyes squint. He knew what he was doing. He couldn't go back on his word. He had to go through with this.

He was never one to be shy or nervous. He didn't know why he was getting like this now. He was more of the hidden, mysterious type. The less people knew about him, the better.

He hated having people ask why, he hated explaining. The Hokage was coming and Kakashi had to tell him why. He wished he had never laid eyes on that mask. Why did he think joining the ANBU was a good idea? It ruined him. It was a disaster.

The Hokage looked surprised to see him waiting. "What are you doing here, Wolf?"

Kakashi scowled. Even the Hokage was calling him Wolf. Did the Hokage forget what his name was? Did the Hokage know his name was Kakashi?

"I am Kakashi, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage blinks in surprise. Kakashi keeps him locked in his gaze. The do not break eye contact. The Hokage searches him. Trying to peer deeper into him. Trying to understand what he was getting at.

Kakashi does not budge. He matches it with a steely gaze of his own. He forces himself to take steady breathes. Kakashi know he must speak first.

He does not want to, but he has to justify himself. "I wish to resign from ANBU."

The Hokage's normally impassive features are overthrown with shock. This wasn't what he was expecting. He was expecting a request for another solo – S rank.

But Kakashi wouldn't have come to him personally for that. It made a bit of sense now, the Hokage notes grimly; he had noticed that Kakashi had seemed a bit on edge lately.

He nods slowly; he never thought it was a good idea for Kakashi to join the ANBU in the first place. It was a bit of a relief that he is leaving. There is still a place for Kakashi in the leaf. They'd find something for him to do. They'd find a way.

"Have you considered becoming a jounin?"

Kakashi's eyebrow rises in interest. He hadn't thought about that. It seems fitting, he was well over jounin levels, but with nowhere else to go, it'd have to do.

He couldn't even remember the last time he had been a jounin. He remembers his first day as a jounin, he would never forget it. But could he really be demoted?

There really was nothing else for him. He didn't have much of a choice. And there would still be a few flaws from the ANBU to work out.

He'd have to become more trusting and let people touch him without attacking them. He'd have to become more social and smile a bit more and let a few emotions slip, but all in due time, he felt like he could do it, and even make a few friends in the process.

Kakashi leaves the Hokage tower as a new man.

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><p>The new vest was something to get used to. It seemed durable. But it was looser than and not as tight as the ANBU armor.<p>

There was less padding and different and bulky. It was harder to maneuver in. At least the collar protected the neck. But there were a lot more pockets and secret compartments, the green would be useful as camouflage and it might keep him warm when it got colder.

The headband was something he had been missing. Now he wouldn't have to always remind himself to close his eye because he was wasting chakra. He never really had to, but every once and a while he found himself using both eyes.

The headband fitted more snug than the last one he had worn, and he'd have to get used to pushing it up when he needed to use the sharingon. No doubt it wouldn't go unnoticed. The lack of the blank, white, mask of Wolf was something else to get used too.

The fact that now they can see his eye and he didn't know how well the other jounins were at reading people. Heck, he'd never met the other jounin.

But he had to keep reminding himself that it didn't matter of the other jounin could tell what he was thinking, he was on their side. They were now comrades, and he would have to get to know them and their abilities.

He'd have to know who was good with teamwork and their fighting styles. He'd have to learn all of their strengths and weaknesses. He didn't pick any of that up as a kid.

He had probably seen a few of them at one point in his life, but it was always from afar. He couldn't remember any lasting conversations he might have had. He might have known a few of them when he was young but he was often away on a mission and missed out on getting to know them.

The only one he kept in touch with was Gai, and that was only because Gai insisted. He hadn't taken the time to notice if other jounins were around, he didn't think he'd need it. He wished he did.

Walking down to the village, he can't help but notice an ANBU silently watching him in the dawn light. He gives two fingered wave, and senses sparks of interest from the unknown ANBU.

No doubt rumors would be flying around. Something else to get sorted out. He sighs good naturally; this was going to take a while before things winded down.

"Hey you!"

He froze. Who could possibly be calling him? He didn't recognize the voice. It definitely wasn't one of the ANBU. But then again an ANBU would never reveal themselves like that, they would have more sense than to announce their presence so bluntly, even to a comrade.

And they definitely would have recognized him and showed him respect because he was their superior. The only thing left for him to do was check. He catches himself as his hands freeze in the hand signs to a transportation jutsu.

He closes his eye and takes a deep breath. He slowly turns to see who had called him. It was a man, another jounin judging by the vest, he had dark hair and a beard and a cigarette dangled from his lips.

Kakashi's nose crinkles in disgust, he never did like cigarettes. A woman accompanies him; her eyes are a piercing red and glittering. Her hair is long and black and the beginning of curls bouncing as she walks.

He takes it all in as they stride towards him, and judging by their posture they didn't recognize him at all. They reach him, and he can feel their eyes searching him, searching for any sign of hostility or defensive aura.

He keeps himself still as he glares back into their eyes, not menacingly, but merely curious. He waits for them to continue.

The woman is the one to break the silence first. "Haven't seen you around before, you new?"

He smiles under his mask. His eyes twinkle in amusement, was he new? No, he wasn't new. Konohagakure had been his home his whole life.

Maybe he was new to this whole jounin system, but just because they hadn't seen him around before, doesn't mean they've seen everyone. But he had already found a way around the question in his head.

There was no way he'd give them a straight answer, that would be boring. It was fun to play with people. It was fun to watch them wander around in their own confusion; it was the kind of fun that only a man with a twisted mind could think up. Like mice in a trap.

It was just the kind of fun for Kakashi. He needed to pick up a new hobby along with an attitude.

"Think you know everyone don't you?"

The woman seemed put off by his docile answer. He didn't give anything away, and he hadn't answered the question either. He was a tricky one.

The man, on the other hand, narrows his eyes. That voice… he knew that voice from somewhere, but where? Had he met this man before? Maybe when he was younger?

But try as he might, He had no luck remembering the stranger that stood before him.

His skeptical eyes survey the man, his laid back slouch, and the lazy dull gleam in his eyes. Maybe it should have been the mask and the silver hair that should have tipped him off, but he couldn't ignore the nagging memory just beyond his reach. He should know this man… if only he could get a name…

"IS THAT YOU, MY ETERNAL RIVAL!"

A burst of green rushes down the street and latches himself onto Kakashi.

Kakashi, his eyes wide with ANBU instincts rushing into action, had to swallow his killing intent and remind himself five times that it was only Gai, and he had no need to attack him.

If Gai hadn't declared his presence and shouted about his "eternal rival" he would have been all but dead by now. It was a good thing that Kakashi had trained himself not to react to "eternal rival".

Gai should be grateful. Eternally grateful. Gai pounced on him and slung an arm around his shoulders, and Kakashi, falling forward with the motion, caught himself before he either ended up on top of the people in front of him, or plastered into the ground.

He regained his balance and composure and shot Gai a dirty look before turning back to the two strangers before him. The expressions on their faces were priceless.

They looked stunned and frazzled and shocked all at the same time. Their eyes were wide and they had to blink a few time in order to take in what had just happened.

Gai, Konoha's green beast, had just taken this new comer by surprise. This man didn't seem like the type for hugs and that was based only on the heat that flared in his eyes as Gai practically tackled him.

He seemed to take it good naturally in the end. Even after his awkward stumble. They must have over-estimated him; they thought that the seemingly cold man before them would be sharper.

They must have thought wrong. They were also speechless at the fact that they had just seen the man that Gai was always calling his "eternal rival."

This was Gai's rival?

The woman couldn't believe it. He could hardly rival Gai at all, he seems… slow, dim, and maybe a bit pathetic. He was supposed to be a jounin!

Even a genin could have heard Gai coming from a mile away, if they hadn't sensed him first. When Gai had told them about his rival, she had imagined someone to match Gai's pep and enthusiasm, but this man, he just seemed dull and boring and lazy.

She squints in suspicion; she still didn't know who this outsider was.

As for the man, he was deep in thought. The word eternal rival had caused some sort of reaction within him.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he should know this man; the one with such a mysterious personality, something about him was familiar. Maybe it was his looks, or the way he moved, but the man knew he should know who this is; he was a part of The Leaf all the same. Still…

"Hey! Kakashi! Where ya been? And what's this jounin vest about huh? What happened to the ANBU?"

Kakashi stands still as Gai revolves around him, poking and prodding at the pale green vest. Inspecting as if he was some item up for auction.

His eyes track Gai and then travel up to the people in front of him. The man's eyes are wide like he just realized something, and Kakashi heard a soft gasp. He grins inwardly; this man must have heard something of his reputation.

There were only so many reasons for people to reach that way. After all, he was considered almost famous. The woman does not seem thrown off; she seems to not have reacted to this new information at all.

Her face does not betray many of her emotions, but she seemed to be thinking hard about something.

Something clicks in the man's mind, and just like that, memories and recognition floods him. He gasps, an intake of breath, this was Hatake Kakashi?

The son of The White Fang? The man who copied over one thousand jutsus? The one who is the only outsider to ever tame the sharingon? The child protégée? The top of the generation, always one step ahead, chuunin at six and jounin at fourteen? That one?

He's definitely heard of him, it made sense. This was the man who always overshadowing him, always outdoing him and many others. The subject and always the center of the gossip, whether it be good or bad.

The one that was always the center of attention, always marveled at for his accomplishments, practically a living legend and a long lost childhood friend?

His father had always been pushing him to make friends with Kakashi, but he never felt like he could get used to the silver haired boy's desolate personally.

So he had left it alone, eventually growing apart from his onetime friend. Loosing contact and fading into the past. Admiration turned into resentment after the constant praise.

But now the man could barely hold it against him. It wasn't his fault; he was doing the best he could.

Seeing him, realizing who this was, came as a big shock for the woman.

This was the ever famous copy ninja? The one they called sharingon-no-Kakashi for his outstanding ability to control another clan's bloodline limit? This was him?

This came as a huge disappointment for her. He wasn't that much. And if he was, he must be losing his edge. She didn't see what the big deal was. Sure that was an impressive feat, but he looked like just any other man out there.

She didn't see what was so special about him. She thought she heard Gai say something about the ANBU too, but the man before her was hardly ANBU material.

They probably kicked him out and forced him to become a jounin. His skills probably dropped that drastically, that he wasn't even good enough for the ANBU anymore.

"I've resigned from the ANBU."

Kakashi told himself wasn't guilty, and he had nothing to be ashamed of, but something made him feel like he could have turned it around. Even though he never thought he would let it get as far as to quit the ANBU in the first place.

He didn't want to let any kind of emotion seep into his voice. He had perfected that trait while working among the ANBU. And it wasn't a bad trait to have.

He already felt like he gave too much away. They had heard his name, and they had seen enough of him to already know his chakra nature and where he kept most of his weapons… he mentally slapped himself. He was getting paranoid.

These people where comrades, people he would need to learn to know and trust, and not think that they were going to betray him! These were people who one day he would eventually fight alongside of, and they were not out to get him!

They had no need to know his chakra nature, or anything of the sort. He was letting his imagination run away from him. He didn't even know if these people were capable of sensing that kind of thing yet. For all he knew the thought had never crossed their minds.

He needed to calm down… a lot.

The man furrows his brows as he thinks a trait that he recently noticed he had picked up when in deep thought. It didn't matter anyway, it wasn't that important at the moment. Actually, he was pretty sure it would never be important. He didn't even know why he was thinking that much into it.

Kakashi Hatake was in the ANBU? Since when? Well, that would explain why he seemingly dropped off the face of the earth all those years ago, it was so soon after Obito's death.

He remembered it well. But the man before him, he seemed… changed. He seemed deeper and more thought out. He seems a bit calmer and deadly and his gaze sent chills through his body.

He was pretty creepy looking. Hatake Kakashi has grown up. It saddened him, to see that the man he once knew has chosen to be taught by the shadows.

To be taught by the dark ANBU soldiers. It's like throwing your life away, he's heard. No one walks out of ANBU alive. Hatake Kakashi has just set another record.

First man to leave the ANBU in one piece. First man to have a reason to go besides death, or insanity. Kakashi Hatake was definitely one in a million.

The woman's mind was a forest of doubt. This man definitely wasn't good enough for ANBU. He was probably lying to show off in front of them. He just probably wanted to brag.

She wasn't buying it; she could beat this man with her eyes closed. He was no big deal. He needed to shape up if he wanted to maintain jounin level.

"Don't get to full of yourself, being a jounin is harder than it looks" She hadn't meant to let the venom of her thoughts seep into her voice, she came off more agressive than she had wanted to.

Irritation and a flicker of anger flared up from deep within him. Whatever that woman had been thinking about this whole time, he certainly wasn't expecting this.

Who said he was full of himself? He knew better than anyone what kind of responsibility came with the vest; he knew what was expected of him.

And he knew more than anyone how hard it could be! Him being a jounin didn't stop his best friend from dying; he knew how hard it was! So this woman thought she could judge him didn't she?

She didn't know the first thing about him! She's never seen what he can do! She doesn't know what he had gone through as a jounin! She's never seen all of his tricks and she didn't even know him!

If anyone in the ANBU were to ever speak to a commander like that, he would have placed them in the hospital. And no one would have stopped him, because they would know better than to get in the way of Wolf when he's angry.

And even the earliest rookie in the ANBU would have known better than to speak to a superior like that. Luckily, Gai seemed to have sensed the rise in tension in the air and stepped between the two. The man put a hand on the woman's shoulder as she continued to glare at him with scorn clear in her eyes.

The man cringed at her tone. She should know better than to address him like that. And he could see by the rage flashing in Kakashi's eyes that it looked like he was barely restraining himself from lunging at her.

He had thought that the ANBU would have been better at hiding their emotions. But then again, they always had a mask on to cover them up. Didn't she know who this was? No one would dare speak to him like that.

He put a hand on the woman's shoulder and willed her to apologize. He didn't want to see how Kakashi was when he was angry. He moved to break the stony silence, but the his companion seemed too had sensed that she was out of line and spoke sooner.

She lowered her gaze "Sorry about that."

She knew her face was flushed by her rash actions. It was never good for a shinobi to just blurt out whatever was on their mind. She should know better. She should have held her tongue.

This was not a good way to start a relationship with this new comrade. She could see Kakashi visibly react; she heard Gai breath a barely noticeable sigh of relief.

But she might have imagined it, because there was no way that Gai ever felt anything besides happiness, or whatever else fueled his ridiculously peppy attitude all day.

To the man's relief, Kakashi seemed to settle down. He didn't seem like the kind to let these things get to him. Considering how he was the subject of most of the village's ridicule and discrimination as a child.

Then again, maybe he did that to scare them; he almost thought he could hear a chuckle from the man before him. But he told himself it was impossible, because Kakashi never even smiled, let alone laugh.

He was feeling pretty good, the former ANBU seemed to forgive her, and maybe they could get to know each other. This wasn't such a bad thing.

Kakashi nodded in acceptance to her apology. He hadn't needed it, and he chuckled at how easily they had been fooled. It felt good, because he hadn't really felt this good in a long time.

Maybe leaving the ANBU wasn't such a bad idea after all. He was going to have fun with this, he decided, turn over a new leaf and begin a new era in his lifetime.

Start on the next chapter; try with refreshed efforts, things like that. Things were looking up.

And Kakashi knew he could rest easily knowing that he wouldn't be sent on an assassination mission early in the morning anymore, and he could finally learn to live a little, after all, it's never too late to try.

The man cleared his throat and pulled on a somewhat cheesy but friendly smile all the same. "I'm Asuma by the way"

Kakashi glanced at him. So this was the boy he had always seen watching him when he was younger. He had heard that he was related to the Hokage, being his son or something.

He squinted his eyes in something that he hoped would pass for a smile. "Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi."

The woman then lifted her eyes, with a sly grin; she met the man's eyes. "Yuuhi Kurenai." and then added "Pleased to meet you."

Gai laughed a deep, bellowing laugh and slung his arms around Kakashi and Asuma.

"Isn't this nice? Together I know that there will be no mountain too high, no sea too deep, no tree too tall, no distance too far, no enemy too strong-"

Kurenai cut him off with a chuckle, "We get it Gai"

Asuma turned to Kakashi "Why don't you join us for lunch?"

Kakashi prepared to decline, and then thought about it. It wouldn't hurt anyone, and he needed to get out more. It couldn't be a bad thing; it would help them get to know each other.

He slowly nodded, and the quad of friends set off. Kakashi wasn't sure about this ending to his life in ANBU, but he realized that it wasn't an ending, but a new begining. And whatever he did, he had made the right choice.

The ANBU life style was never for him. He didn't know what took him so long to realize it. Kakashi set off feeling at peace with his decision and himself, and more sure of anything than he had been in a long time.

Wolf had stepped out of the shadows and was embracing a new life. Although old ways can never be forgotten, there was still a part of him that was filled with relief that his dark past could be put behind him, and he could finally be himself once more.

It was the best feeling in the world. Even though his comrades had relied on him, and even though he had let them die. He was better now, faster, stronger, and he was ready to try again, and protect his new allies, and make it up for the ones he couldn't.

And although the ANBU were now missing one of the greatest commanders in the history of ANBU, the earth would keep turning.

Life would go on, and a new Wolf would replace the old. But there was no replacing Hatake Kakashi. He was one of a kind. He had stepped out and away from the binding darkness that restricts those weaker.

He had set the example. It's your life. You can do what you want with it. Even if it means doing all the dirty work for the village. Someone has to do it.

And in your own way, you're contributing too. Some haven't realized that, and they will spend the rest of their days hidden behind a mask. Deep in the heart of the village, always sneaking.

They will see more of Kakashi, and they will always admire him for his courage to break free and do things that they could only dream about.

And they never will, they will slink through the shadows, as they are taught, and they will go on, and live the ANBU lifestyle, along with all the others, but they will never forget the lessons Wolf had taught them.

But he is the last to leave, they will never be as strong as he was.

The ANBU are content with just waiting, and watching.

The silent guardians of the leaf, and yet no one even knows their name.


End file.
